A conversation on race and justice
Earlier this year the Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity, the Atlantic Institute and our sister programs collectively issued a Call to Action to address racial injustice. As noted then, the brutal and senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery — as well as the less well publicized deaths of Collins Khoza and Tony McDade — reignited global anguish, anger and action. Millions of people around the world took to the streets to protest the systemic failure to see, value and protect Black lives. Those deaths and many more since — along with the global health and economic disparities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic — are painful reminders that anti-Black racism renders Black lives disposable. As an international community of social justice leaders from more than 60 countries, the full global community of Atlantic Fellows and programs are united in challenging anti-Black racism in all its forms. Fellows and staff mobilized in many ways to amplify existing anti-racism work and collaborate, reflect and act in more collective ways across the community. The Institute hosted an online event, “A Conversation on Race and Justice”, for Atlantic Fellows and staff, led by Joedrecka Brown, Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity US + Global; Betsy Hodges and Busisiwe Dlamini, Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity; Maureen Sigauke, Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity; Lance Louskieter, Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in South Africa; and Janine Mohamed, Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity. It was an important conversation not only for healing and processing but also for moving toward collective action. The 2019 cohort of Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity wrote a powerful statement, reminding us all that the work to achieve racial equity requires a daily commitment. The Atlantic Institute is committed to modeling the work for systemic change that we expect and support in our community. In particular, we aim at lifting up and legitimizing the voices of Black people and ways of knowing, being and doing in everything that we engage in.
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A T L A N T I C I N S T I T U T E
